Movie Natters: April 27, 2007 Archive

Closing theaters

Posted at 10:47 AM on April 27, 2007 by Euan Kerr (2 Comments)

The penny finally dropped last night for me that the UA Pavilion Theaters at Crossroads in Roseville are closed.

I dropped by the Crossroads Mall and was amazed how much of the evidence that theatre was there has simply disappeared. You can still see it of course, and there were even lights on in some of the actual theaters, but it's almost as if there is some form of re-absorbing going on, much as a jungle will consume abandoned buildings.

It's just the latest in the line of theaters to close around St Paul and it's suburbs, clearly a victim, along with the Har-Mar theaters, of the 14 screen AMC which just opened about half a mile away at Rosedale.

These things happen, but as a regular movie consumer it makes me uneasy. In terms of pure screen numbers, the score is about even. But what of the future?

The Lagoon is slated for demolition at some point as part of the Uptown development. The theater is meant to be replaced nearby, but those plans are unclear. The Oak Street's future is, as ever, unclear. The Parkway is being remodeled as a Varsity style performance space.

As a creature of habit it's distressing to see movie habitats changing or vanishing.

The Pavilion Theaters were essentially just another mall theater complex, but it was a great place to see films, whether it was the Hollywood blockbusters, or the steady stream of indie films which would appear there too.

I don't want to cry wolf, and maybe we have been spoiled for choice compared with some parts of Minnesota. But the world is changing, and at least in this little neck of the movie-going world, venue choices seem to be diminishing.

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